News Brief

Israel's New "Master Chef" is a Converted Christian

The winner of the latest season of the Israeli version of the reality show “Master Chef” is a man who grew up in Germany to a Christian family and later converted to Judaism.

39-year-old Tom Franz, a lawyer from Tel Aviv, won the competition on Tuesday evening, beating out Jackie Azoulay, a 29-year-old religious woman from the hareidi city of Elad and Salma Fiyumi, a 27-year-old Arab woman who lives in Kfar Kassem.

Franz, who grew up in Cologne as a Christian, came to Israel at the age of 31, fell in love with the country and with Judaism and chose to convert. He had a circumcision, became observant and later married Dana, a secular woman who became observant as well, thanks to him. Throughout the “Master Chef” season, Franz made sure that all the foods he cooked were kosher.